romantic solo concerto

• Romantic Solo Concerto


  Instrumental works for a single solo instrument with orchestral accompaniment, but became much more dramatic sounding and emotive. Sometimes double concertos were written for 2 solo instruments.
• Romantic Solo Concerto period

  1820-1900
• Harmony & Tonality


  • Mainly diatonic harmony but much more use of chromatic harmony, dissonance (clashing notes and chords) and added note chords e.g. 9ths to create dramatic effects.
• Form & Structure


  Three movements - 1st movement in sonata form, allegro with soloist playing virtually throughout; 2nd movement in ternary or variation form, slow and lyrical; 3rd movement in rondo, variation or sonata form, fast and cheerful.
• Rhythm, Tempo & Metre


  • Frequent changes of time signature and tempo.
• Texture


  • Homophonic (melody and accompaniment) but more complex than in Classical Concertos.
• Dynamics


  • Extremes of dynamics common (ppp, fff) and specific expression markings e.g. espressivo, dolce, appassionato.
• Melody


  • The regular and balanced phrases of the Classical Concerto were less important with composers giving more freedom to expression within their melodies which were now often long and dramatic, loud and powerful or warm and emotional.
• Soloists (and Articulation)


  • The soloist's part became even more difficult, virtuosic and technically difficult to play. Cadenza sections continued to allow the soloist to "show off" becoming more complex and difficult with lots of melodic decoration, ornamentation and fast scale passages and demanding playing techniques particular to the solo instrument e.g. glissandi on the piano, double stopping and harmonics on the violin. Cadenzas were now written out and not improvised by the performer. Soloist often enters immediately (no orchestral introductions) at the start of the 1st movement sharing themes with the orchestra.
• Soloists vs. Orchestral Accompaniment

  • In the Romantic period, the soloist stepped forward as a "heroic figure" with the orchestra slipping back into a more "subordinate" role, but these changing roles also added to excitement and drama and more "competition" between soloist and orchestra. The conductor continues to follow the soloist and the orchestra follows the conductor. The soloist's interpretation of the music is now more important due to the music being more dramatic and powerful.
• Venue


  • Many Romantic Solo Concerto composers were also virtuoso performers e.g. Franz Liszt, Chopin, Clara Schumann and Niccolo Paganini (Violin Virtuoso) who wrote and performed in large-scale public concerts, subscription concerts and festivals. Larger concert halls had to be built due to the rise of the "middle class" concert goer.
• Romantic Solo Concerto Composers

  • Beethoven
  • Brahms (Late Concertos)
  • Liszt
  • Mendelssohn (Piano Concertos)
  • Violin and Piano Concertos
• Instrumentation - Typical Instruments, Timbres and Sonorities

  • The Romantic orchestra was large and often contrasted dramatically with the soloist. With the growth of the Romantic orchestra, new timbres and sonorities became available to composers who explored rich and colourful orchestration. The strings section was enlarged again, often with the addition of Harps. New instruments were added to the woodwind section such as the Double Bassoon, Cor Anglais, Bass Clarinet and Piccolo. The brass section saw Trombones and a Tuba added along with an extra Trumpet and two further French Horns and the percussion section now featured a vast array of Drums, Cymbals, Pitched Percussion and other instruments which could be hit, struck, banged or plucked! There could be between 90-100 players in a Romantic orchestra. Romantic composers wrote Solo Concertos for almost any orchestral instrument, but the Piano and Violin continued to be popular choices as solo instruments.